The Motor Ombudsman’s Knowledge Base records over 100,000 article views since January launch

•  The Motor Ombudsman receives more than 100,000 article views across its online Knowledge Base during the first nine months of 2019
• Easy-to-navigate information resource for motorists introduced in January, and now features 113 different sets of questions and answers in relation to buying, owning and maintaining a car
• “Can I get a car deposit refund?” has been the most read article to date on the Knowledge Base, followed by “The garage has not fixed the problem with my vehicle. What can I do?”
• New category on electric vehicles added to the popular online tool following the growth insales of zero emission models in the UK

London, 08 October 2019: The Motor Ombudsman, the automotive dispute resolution provider, has received over 100,000 article views on its Knowledge Base since the online facility was launched at the beginning of 2019. The easy-to-navigate tool, which can be accessed via the ‘Find an answer’ button at the top of any page of The Motor Ombudsman’s website (TheMotorOmbudsman.org), was introduced in January to make it faster and simpler for motorists to resolve common queries or complaints in relation to buying, owning and maintaining a car.

Prior to bringing a dispute to The Motor Ombudsman, individuals have access to 113 different sets of questions and answers across the different categories spanning The Motor Ombudsman’s four Chartered Trading Standards Institute-approved Codes of Practice. From the views that have been recorded across all articles during the first three quarters of this year, the conditions for getting a deposit refund when buying a new or used car, proved the most frequently consulted piece of information overall, with nearly 4,500 views. The second most called on article with nearly 2,800 views was in the Service and Repair category, which explains the steps to take if a garage has not rectified a problem with a vehicle. A customer deeming a car to have been mis-sold, because of factors such as an undisclosed service history or a higher than stated mileage, was the third most prominent concern of motorists between January and September, attracting just over 2,600 views during this period.

Damage caused to a consumer’s car or property whilst in the care of a garage, what to do next if the internal complaints process of a business has been exhausted, and the suggested approach if a repairer is unable to diagnose an intermittent car fault, were amongst some of the other most referred to articles so far this year across the Knowledge Base categories. As usage of the online tool has increased overall throughout 2019, it has equally witnessed over 12,000 searches on average each quarter, with many individuals looking for guidance in conjunction with recalls, warranties, car faults and refunds, subjects all covered by the knowledge hub.

In addition, following the growth in demand for zero emission cars across the UK, The Motor Ombudsman has unveiled a sixth section within the Knowledge Base focused on some of the expected consumer contacts surrounding the purchase and servicing of electric vehicles. These touch on subjects such as whether battery-powered cars require an MOT, and whether they fall within the remit of the Codes.